By Phi lip Ciantar *
Abstract Exploring the musical soundscape of a city like Tripoli is fascinating as much as it is challenging to retrieve meanings underlying the same soundscape. The fine blend between, for instance, 'traditional' and 'modern' musical practices and aesthetics, appertaining to this soundscape, presents the music researciler with a complex scenario to investigate. For this purpose, contemporary music research recognises music ethnography (superficially def111ed as the writing about the way people get involved in and make music) as a means by which such scenarios can be explored. In line with this, the present article explores Tripoli's musical soundscape by presenting vignettes of people listening to music, actively participating in musical events, as well as making music. Such depictions must shed light on the musical life in contemporary Libya with particular focus on the musical life in Tripoli. The commentary accompanying these vignettes links the sound not only with the people interacting with it, but also with the events that generate it, the place in which it evolves and the socio-cultural context that endows it with meaning.
Introduction My research in Libyan music started in June 2002. Before that time, my impression of Libyan music was one moulded by images of folk groups playing in the midst of a desert, dancing to their own music and providing music that in Western musical conception is sometimes termed 'primitive'. I had never thought of the fact that Libya is a land of musical diversity in which 'traditional' and 'modern' musical aesthetics and practices co-exist so strongly. In Libya, it seems that what determines a musical performance as 'traditional' or 'modern' is the context in which the same performance takes place and the instruments employed in it. Visiting Libya served as a means by which I could experience a different musical world, not only in terms of sounds but also in terms of concepts about and attitudes towards music.
The aim of this article is to present snapshots of the musical life and activity in Tripoli as I have experienced them during my research trips. This article must shed light on contemporary musical life in Libya with special emphasis on the musical life in Tripoli. Aspects of Libya's musical past are incorporated and commented about when this proves necessary to explain present-day practices. Some of the following observations are presented as vignettes portraying people making, participating and listening to music. Such vignettes have originated whilst roaming the streets of Tripoli in search of sonic experiences that have become essential in my understanding of Libyan music.
For this purpose, the present article is divided into four sections. The first section includes portraits depicting aspects of the musical life in downtown Tripoli with special emphasis on the role of technology. The subsequent section focuses on the soundscape of the medina 1- qadima (Tripoli's Old City), both in everyday life, as well as during the annual religious celebration of the mawlid (the Prophet's birthday). The third section discusses aspects related to music education in Libya and the impact of this on musical professionalism and, consequently, on
, Mediterranean Institute, University of Malta.
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musical performance. The fourth section brings to our attention the Tripoli annual festival of Arabic music and the context that shapes this much-awaited annual event.
Music and Technology \'\Talking through the streets of downtown Tripoli one would definitely be struck by the sound of the adhan, that is, the call to prayer from atop minarets or roofs of mosques. This calls the believers to the Friday holy service as well as to the five prayers prescribed for the day-in the morning, at noon, in the afternoon, at sunset and in the evening. The traditional practice of the mu)adhdhin (reciter) using his voice to reach the surrounding community is still in practice. Nowadays, this is facilitated by the use of loudspeakers and even local radio and television broadcasts. In this regard, Lee observes that "in almost every Islamic community today, the loudspeaker, radio, and television have become essential in the traditional call to prayer" and in itself this shows "a remarkable juxtaposition of high media technology and conservative religious practices".1 At these prescribed moments, the sound of heavy-traffic in Tripoli and the music that very frequently blasts out of some cars would be overshadowed by a cacophony of adhans emitted from loudspeakers. Media technology in Libya gains prominence through its role as facilitator in the affirmation of Libya's religious and cultural identity and in the production of Islamic culture in genera1.2
Libya presents a world of musical diversity in many aspects. Listening to the national Libyan Radio, one would hear hours of Arabic music varying from folk music to one that is nowadays termed" classical". Radio transmissions from neighbouring countries are also available and taken up. Some taxi drivers in Tripoli prefer listening to Western pop music from their car radios. Radio music saves them buying audio cassettes of Western pop music and transforms the space in which they spend most of their time. Travelling in taxis might evolve into an interesting journey of different musical styles and genres. The frustration of taxi drivers driving in Tripoli's heavy traffic can lead a driver to change two to three audiocassettes in the span of twenty minutes or so. The music they choose sometimes depends on the passenger sitting next to them. In some cases "music ... seems to do little more than fill a silence left by something else"; in this case, by the passenger.3 An expression of interest on part of the passenger in 'all' music might generate an interesting musical journey starting with music by Whitney Houston, changing later on to some Libyan reggae and finishing with the singing of the Syrian singer Sabah FakhrI.4 More 'conservative' drivers might start the day with recorded chanting of the Quran, changing later on during the day to the Egyptian songs of lvfuhammad (Abd al-Wahhab and welcoming sunset with the thrilling voice of the then diva of Arabic music, Umm Kulth-Clm.5 In this musical journey, one element remains strong, if not also central, and that is a strong preference towards vocal music. This links with Blum's assertion that:
The voice has remained central to the musics of the Middle East because it is the primary instrument of human communication. Voices can be effectively supported, extended, contradicted, or transcended by the other musical instruments.6
Youths passing by the shops in 1 st September Avenue (the main avenue in Tripoli's downtown) stop at record music shops, sheltering themselves from the strong sun in mid-July whilst going
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through some of their favourite music shelved in the shop. j\;Iusic record shops in Tripoli are proliferating and renovating themselves to look more in line with both their Western counterparts as well as with the 'modern' music they hold in stock. Some look more orthodox than others with leading interpretations of QurJanic cantillation (qira'a) prominently exhibited in their shop-windows.7 Asking for Libyan music, the salesperson would probably lead the customer to the music of Libyan pop singers such as Fawzi:y al-lVIizdawi, Tadq or Cheb Jiliani. It takes mention of the words musiqa shabrya librya (Libyan folk music) for the salesperson to direct the customer to a relatively small selection of Libyan folk music. But even here one needs to specify the kind of folk music he is interested in, whether folk music from Sabha, Murzuq or zamzamat music.
Zamzamatare professional singing women who provide music for women's wedding festivities. Traditionally, the two musical instruments used in zamzamatperformances are the darabukkah
(a goblet drum) and bandir(a single-headed frame drum).8 Nowadays, zamzamatalso make use of the accordion as to make their music sound somewhat similar to that produced in recording studios. The recording of folk music in Libya has increased audience's expectation for high quality sound performances that resemble the sound quality on audio cassettes and CDs. The recording of folk music has also meant that the music that traditionally was bounded in gender segregation is now available to everybody and reproduced any time as often as desired.9
In Tripoli's Old City Crossing Tripoli's Green Square (saha l-hadra) one may enter through one of the gates that lead to Tripoli's medina l-qadima (Tripoli's Old City). The sound of automobiles fades away the more one moves inwardly into the city. Passing through the alleys of the medina one gets
Figure 1. lamal working in his workshop (20 April 2003). Photo: P. Ciantar.
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Figure 2. A ma)lCtjparade peiforming in Tripoli's medina l-qadfma on mawlid day (1 May 2004). Photo: P Ciantar.
Figure 3. Folk musicians playing the bagpipe and bandfr (1 May 2004). Photo: P Ciantar.
struck by the sound of recorded qira)a coming out of workshops and shops, blending with the loud banging of blacksmiths and the sounds of carriages loaded with wheat sacks being carried by Sudanese migrant workers. The narrow streets of the medina are a unique place where the hardships of everyday life are supported by the chanted divine words of the Quran and modern technology, even here, marks its socio-religious significance. The still glance, somewhat fatalistic too, of shop owners waiting for clients on their shops' doorsteps contrasts sharply with the on-going activity of the elderly Jamal. Jamal is a drum maker with his own small workshop in the medina (Fig. 1). Whenever you pass by his workshop you find him stretching and fastening wet membrane onto round drum frames. His workshop is full of ready-made drums ready to be sold. His workshop conveys a strong impression of continuous activity that leaves him very little time to clear up. His instruments are hardly used in recording contexts as, nowadays, musicians prefer the 'professional' sound of the metallic darabukkah rather than of the traditional clay ones like those produced by Jamal.
The medina is not always as serene as portrayed above. The annual Muslim period of the mawlid awakens the city especially on the first day that initiates the religious celebrations spread over a month or so. The ma};;/id falls on the twelfth day of the third month of the Islamic lunar calendar (rabi(al-a}J)JJJa~. The Muslims celebrate the day that commences such celebrations by a holiday that would include an entire day of celebrations in the medina. In the morning of ma};;/id day, Sufi brotherhoods leave from each of the three ZaJJJi/Ya (Sufi lodges) found in the medina for a parade in the streets of this old city. This takes place according to an established order agreed by the organisers. The parade moves slowly with the participants singing ma)liif (a vocal musical genre claimed to be of Andalusian origin) accompanied by the playing of the ghqyta (shawm) and the rhythms of the bandir (a single-headed frame drum) and naqqarat (small kettle drums) (Fig. 2).10 Distinguished families residing in the medina welcome these parades with the sprinkling of orange-flower water that women sprinkle from atop balconies whilst a member of the family shows himself on the main doorstep holding a censer with burning incense to attract the baraka (blessing) of a Saint. Along the parade, women would normally stand by the sides of the street, enriching the entire celebrative atmosphere with yodelling that
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shrill out from time to time. In a parallel street, a group of musicians would be singing and making music on bagpipe and bandfr (Fig. 3). Their sound comes clearer as the confraternity performing ma)lCif would be having a short break in between one nmvba (a suite of songs that in such contexts takes an hour or so) and another.
Music Education and Professional Music Making The rise of music professionalism in Libya can be traced back to an official cultural policy launched in the early post-revolutionary years. Following the revolution of September 1st 1969, many entertainment venues were closed down. The closure of such venues left its effect on the musical life of the country and of Tripoli in particular. Restaurants in Tripoli used to attract both oriental and occidental orchestras as the 1962 advert in Fig. 4 shows.ll
One assumes that, as a consequence of such closures, the movement of foreign musicians into Libya for show business purposes was considerably reduced. The new administration embarked on a policy that put more emphasis
WELCOME AT THE
CABARBT ORIBNTAL The Only Original Oriental Floor Show in Tripoli
with the famous Oriental Orchestra of Cairo
Directed by ADLI RAHF
And new opering the famous Egyptian T.V. Star SUSI KAHIRI
And the Italian Orchestra directed by KATY ALBERT aDd LIS BOYS
OPEN EVERY NIGHT
Figure 4. An advert published in 1962 announcing an Oriental Cabaret in Tripoli.
on the educational rather than on the entertainment aspect of music. This led to the employment of Arab music teachers to teach in some preparatory schools in Tripoli and Benghazi. These early initiatives also had the support of Libyan television broadcasting. In order to promote the local musical talent, the transmission of local festivals increased considerablyY
Towards the end of the 1970s and the beginning of the 1980s, the Libyan educational authorities embarked on a plan that was intended to prepare and train an adequate number of Libyan music teachers who could gradually replace the foreign ones. This plan led the same authorities to send promising Libyan students abroad for training in music education. It also led to the setting up of music departments within the existing teachers' training institutes specialising in elementary education, and to the foundation of two public evening music schools, one in Tripoli and another one in Benghazi.13 Apart from this official music education, three other branches of music education continued uninterruptedly. These were: the oral transmission of Arabic 'classical' musical genres by sheikhs in zmvqya; instrumental private tuition on Arabic instruments and the tuition (most of it privately too) of \V'estern wind instruments by military bandsmen.
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Figure 5. A Tripolitan wind band (1 August 2003). Photo: P. Ciantar.
The occasional sound of marching bands in the streets of Tripoli brings forth several curiosities regarding the wind band tradition in Libya and its dissemination (Fig. 5). Wind bands in Libya trace their origin to the presence of Turkish and Italian military bands during the times that these two states occupied the country.14 These military bands included in their repertoire familiar music for the Tripolitanians. Elderly Tripolitanian informants still remember military bands and amateur wind bands playing arrangements of well-known qasa'id (songs with classical Arabic poetry) arranged as military marches. Therefore, the integration of these bands into Libyan musical life was helped by a repertoire not alien to the music that the Tripolitanians were used to listening to. Nowadays, several wind bands meet regularly and are occasionally invited to entertain audiences during festivals and public festivities, such as those held annually to commemorate the 1st September Revolution. Nowadays, the repertoire of these bands mainly includes Egyptian band marches as well as marches based on popular Western tunes. The tuition of Western wind instruments is provided by military bandsmen either within institutions like the Arts and Crafts Centre, situated in Tripoli, or privately in homes.
Traditional .Arab vocal genres such as the maJhg are taught in !?[llJJqya by proficient sheikhs (in this case, masters of the maJ!tgtradition). The teaching that takes place in these Sufi lodges is mainly aimed at young male vocalists interested in learning maJ!tg text and melodies by heart. The teaching of maJhgin zalvrya (sing. of zaJJ;qya) is carried out orally. Learners have to memorise considerable amounts of maJlcrj texts and melodies together with modes of interpretation by repeating for several times the singing of the sheikh. Sometimes, learners
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take with them to these teaching sessions tape-recorders to facilitate the teaching process. The teaching of maJ!iifthat takes place in zaJJJ!ya is complimented by performance-based teaching. By such teaching one understands the acquisition of maJlf;g during an ongoing performance such as the one described above. The maJlf;gin Tripoli is not only related to maJvlid celebrations but it is frequently integrated in wedding festivities and, occasionally, in circumcision rites. Such occasions provide the right opportunity for the learner of maJhifto gain more knowledge of this art until finally he would be able to join in as a performing member. Learners of maJ!u! in the contexts just mentioned could easily be identified, as most of them would be carrying a tape-recorder to register maJ!u! songs during on-going performances so that they could then practice them at home.
Instrumental tuition in Arabic instruments, such as the qanun (trapezoidal zither), nqy (end­ blown flute) and darabukkah, normally begins privately at home, and can continue in one of the two music schools currently found in Tripoli. In these institutions, students specialising in the playing of an .. Arabic instrument, like their counterparts who would be receiving instruction in a Western instrument, would be taught the reading of Western staff notation. Nowadays, even in Libya, playing from musical notation is the criterion that distinguishes the amateur from the professional musician. Professional musicians, even if playing an Arabic instrument, are expected to hold a solid knowledge of musical notation and are sometimes enrolled in professional ensembles on the basis of their knowledge of music reading. The recording industry in Libya, for instance, strongly requests from musicians labelled as professionals to hold a good level of music reading. Since recording time is both restricted and cost-effective, professional musicians working in such an industry are provided with music parts from which they play without the need to memorise new musical material for each recording session. One of the features that characterises the participation of professional ensembles in the annual
Figure 6. A modern ensemble (28 July 2004). Photo: P. Ciantar.
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Festival of Arabic music held in Tripoli is the presence of musical stands with musical parts laid on and musicians playing from them. This contrasts sharply with past practices when music was all performed from memory. Performing from memory was the standard and normal practice employed by any ensemble in Libya before the setting up of the above music schools.
The Annual Tripoli Festival of Arabic Music Every summer, the gardens of al-markaza al-qaJvmfya al-marki:dJa, in central Tripoli, serve as venue for the annual festival of Arabic music. The festival brings together both 'traditional' Libyan musical practices, such as the ones practiced in ZaJvqya, as well as modern practices mainly characterised by modern extensive ensembles that employ both Western and Arabic music instruments. The festival is an occasion through which 'traditional' musical traditions are rejuvenated, sometimes even brought to light from the claustral and male-dominated contexts such as those of zaawfya. For modern ensembles, the festival is an occasion where music is performed live to receptive audiences, away from the technological manipulations of the recording studio.
Since its first edition in 2002, the festival has grown from a musical event spread over three days to one continuing over a fortnight. Performances commence at around ten in the evening and come to an end at around one or two in the morning. The sound of the music and the view of prominent Libyan sheikhs interpreting Arabic music accompanied by their respective ensembles on the huge stage set up for the occasion, blends nicely with women dressed in traditional Libyan costumes serving almond biscuits, orgeat and Arabic mint tea to the audience. Then, one of the organisers would pass from among the audience with burning incense which members of the audience sniff as he passes by. Sometimes, flower-orange water is sprinkled on all those present as in the above mawlid parade described above. The festival is not only a means by which particular musical styles are rejuvenated but also an occasion in which traditional practices are brought to people who might not be so familiar with such practices.
The evenings of the festival commence with a traditional ensemble that is then followed by a modern ensemble. Traditional ensembles are mainly characterised by the sounds of the ghqyta, bandir and the call and response singing that alternates between the sheikh of the ensemble and the accompanying choir. Such traditional performances are then followed by the music of modern ensembles most generally identified by the 'sophisticated' sounds of violins, cello, double bass and sometimes, of synthesisers (Fig. 6). Musical practices employed by such modern ensembles include the occasional presence of a conductor (who, as in Western orchestras, conducts the ensemble from the front), the playing and singing in correct pitch and the use of musical notation. The music of these ensembles would sound somewhat more refilled when compared to the former. A leading singer may improvise stretched vocal passages over a drone note held by the strings or a motivic ostinato repeated by the accompanying choir. Expertly shaped up and projected, the solo voice of the singer aims at touching the emotional sentiments of members of the audience who as a consequence would often respond with loud exclamations such as ''Allah'' or other words in praise of the singer. As the performance approaches the end, the music gets faster whilst the audience joins in with clapping and yodelling shrilled out by women who would be sitting behind the front rows occupied by men.
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Conclusion In a 2001 publication, the American ethnomusicologist Bruno Nettl asserts that "a society develops its music in accordance with the character of its social system" .15 Tripoli's musical soundscape provides an evidence of this assertion. The co-existence of 'traditional' and 'modern' practices exists in Libya's social and cultural life as much as it exists in its music. The cacophonic sound of the adhtm contrasts greatly with the loud sound of Libyan raggae emitted from passing car stereos. Sheikhs in zaJJ)aya teach the oral tradition of ma)/u/, whilst a wind band might march through the streets of Tripoli playing Egyptian marches and a 'modern' ensemble composed of professional musicians perform a recording session in a nearby studio.
The 'old' and the 'modern' coalesce within a context that values and venerates the 'old' whilst at the same time accepts 'modern' trends with a great sense of discreetness. Tripoli's musical soundscape brings forth 'old' and 'modern' trends and practices in an evaluative context that strongly takes into consideration what is acceptable and unacceptable in an Islamic culture like that of Libya. Such an evaluative context may slow down the rate by which 'modern' socio-cultural, and by extension musical, trends are assimilated and integrated in Libya's life and culture.
Acknowledgements My research trips to Libya were supported by research grants from The Society for Libyan Studies. I would also like to acknowledge the continuous assistance that I've received during such trips from The World Islamic Call Society.
Notes 1 Lee 1999, 86. 2 This is evident every Friday (dle Day of Rest for dle Muslims) when dle national Libyan TV transmits live
religious services held in Tripoli's mosques. 3 Stokes 1997, 2. 4 Sabah FakhrI was born in Aleppo, Syria, in 1933. He is "widely recognized as an icon of traditional Arab
music" (Racy 1998, 95). 5 For a detailed biography of Urum Kulfullm see Danielson 1997. 6 Blum 2002, 6. 7 Bofu fue qira)a and adhan are explicity not considered music by Muslims. 8 In an Italian tourist guide publication (Bertarelli 1937, 99) about Libya, dle zamzamat are described as
follows: "The zamzamat accompany dlese ceremonies by singing special songs in praise of fue bride and groom and fueir fanlllies, accompanied by dle rhyfum of fue drum. l1lese zamzamat are frequendy paid lavishly in order to get from dlem fue most pleasing and praising songs. One can't argue widl dlem over service charge because odlerwise dley would gossip terribly against you. Therefore, Arab fanlllies, who have pride so much at heart, would suffer dle blackmail and let fuem extort high charges" [Trans.]. Even today fue service of zamzamat is highly charged.
9 This dovetails nicely widl Racy's observation when referring to dle impact of dle phonograph on post-1904 Egyptian music (1978, 51-52). He remarked fuat before 1904 in Egypt, female professional musicians known as 'mvalim customary performed only for female audiences while dle alatryyah (male musicians) only performed before male audiences. This traditional practice was phased out after 1904 when dle phonograph dismanded fuese socio-musical boundaries.
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10 See Ciantar 2003 for a discussion of the ma)li:tf musical tradition in Libya. Also, descriptions of mmvlid parades in Tripoli found in Cerbella and Ageli (1949, 31-43) exactly match contemporary practices.
11 The advert is reproduced from a 1962 tourist guide (Anon 1962, 42). 12 El Sibaei 1981, 159. 13 Ibid. 14 For a description of a Turkish military parade see Tully 1983, 29. 15 Nettl 2001, 14.
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Vol. 6, edited by Virginia Danielson, Scott Marcus and Dwight Reynolds. New York. Cerbella, G. and I\geli, M. 1949. Le Feste Musuimane in Tripoli: Appunti Etnograjici. Tripoli. Ciantar, P. 2003. Continuity and Change in tl1e Libyan Ma)li:tfMusical Tradition. Lilyan Studies 34: 137-146. Danielson, V 1997. The Voice of Egypt: Umm Kulthum, Arabic Song, and Egyptian Society in the TJventieth Century.
Chicago. El Sibaei, i\. E. 1981. Traditional and Folk Music as a Vehicle for Music Education in tl1e Libyan Society. M.Mus
(lVIusic Education) Dissertation, University of lVIichigan. Nettl, B. et a!. 2001. Examions in World NIusic (3 rd ed.). New Jersey. Racy, A. .. J 1978. Arabian Music and tl1e Effects of Commercial Recording. World of Music 20: 47-58. Racy, A. J 1998. Improvisation, Ecstasy, and Performance Dynamics in Arabic Music. In In the Course of Pe7formance:
Studies in the World of Musical Improzz"satioll, edited by B. Nettl witl1 M. Russell, 95-112. Chicago. Lee, T. S. 1999. Technology and tl1e Production of Islamic Space: tl1e Call to Prayer in Singapore. EtlJl1omusimlogy
43: 86-100. Stokes, M. (ed.). 1997. Ethnicity, Idmtity alld Musi":' The Musical Construction of Place. Oxford. Tully, R. 1983. Narratiz'e of a TeIt Years ResideJlce at Tripoli ill Afn'ca:from the Onginal CorrespolldeJlce ill the Possession of
the FamzIJ of the Late Richard Tulty, ESo. London.
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